![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates, Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasnt been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but Ive had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. Theres so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesnt exist, you can build it yourself, Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasnt making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable, Carter Chadwick (22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and its played such a major role in who Ive become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something Im [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala (21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“Im not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that theres a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyones so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you arent going to get those championships if you arent fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
Q+A profile with Varsity swimmer Kimberly Ma
Harker Aquila: When did you start swimming?
Kimberly Ma: So long ago, I can’t remember. I started swimming when I was four, and I started competitive [swimming] when I was about five and a half.
HA: Where did you begin swimming?
KM: It’s closed down now, but there was this teeny little pool called Maggie’s Swim School. I started there and I swam there for two years. It was a good foundation for when I moved on. Then I went to a relatively small club in Mountain View, maybe a hundred people maximum. It was a very close team, I guess, because there was so few of us. I stayed there for four years, and then I moved to Santa Clara Swim Club (SCSC) where I stayed until now. Santa Clara’s a lot bigger, and it’s much crazier, I guess, but at the same time, it’s been a great time.
HA: What is your favorite stroke?
KM: Every time someone asks that, I don’t know how to answer. I guess I could say that my favorite is butterfly.
HA: What’s your favorite event?
KM: The 100-yard butterfly. I am a “fly-er” and it’s mainly because of my technique, but the 200-yard fly hurts, so I like the shorter one better.
HA: What’s your favorite thing about swimming?
KM: Swimming competitively is one of the very few sports where you race both as a part of a team while keeping your individuality. You race against yourself, but then each point that you get contributes to the team’s score, and I guess some people say that it’s true for other sports as well, but to me it’s special, where I race against myself, and the better I do, the more it helps my team. It’s a win-win situation where I’m also really happy. Ever since I was little, I’ve also really liked the sound of water, the kind of splish-splash-splish-splash.
HA: What keeps you going?
KM: It’s hard, but it’s really based on the person. If you have that drive to get to a place where you want to be, if you want to get another standard, if you want to break a certain time, or if there’s a person that you really want to beat, you find a goal for yourself and then you work towards it. Never be satisfied with yourself. Find goals for yourself and it just comes to you.
HA: What is your day-to-day schedule like?
KM: On a regular school day, wake up at 4:45 a.m., get in the pool by 5:30, get out of the pool at 6:45, go to school, and then go back to practice from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. During summer, it’s 6 to 8 a.m. swimming, 8:15 to 9:00 dry-land, and then at night from 5 to 7:15 p.m. [swimming].
HA: What is your least favorite thing about swimming?
KM: Because it’s individual at the same time as it’s being team, it’s sometimes hard to get to know people even though you might have the potential of being best friends outside of the pool. Sometimes you feel like because you’re racing them, you just can’t get to know them. I have a lot of friends that I’ve met through swimming, but at the same time I can think of a good ten people right now that at first, we never talked, and I swear, we glared at each other the times we met each other, but at one point, we said ‘Okay, we’ve raced at least twenty times against each other, I think we can say hi.’ I think that’s the worst part. Otherwise, I guess some people say that lap swimming is boring. I guess that’s true. If you swim the longer distances, then all that is going through your head at some points is ‘What lap am I on?’ and ‘When is it going to be done?’ Also, you get out of shape really easily. Once you’re out of the pool for 24 hours, you start losing your touch. I guess that’s also really different from other places. You can get out of shape in running when you can’t go as fast as usual, but it’s not that you don’t know how to run anymore. But for me, when I get out of the pool for two weeks, and then I go back, I actually feel like I don’t know how to swim anymore.
HA: How long have you been at Santa Clara?
KM: I’m 17, so I’ve been at SCSC for nine years.
HA: What are your college plans?
KM: I’ve been recruited to schools from D3 to D1 [for swimming], but I’ve decided to concentrate mainly on my studies to become a doctor. So I’ll keep swimming for fun and to stay fit, but competitive swimming will probably come to a halt when I begin college. I’m still waiting on schools, so cant quite answer [entirely].
HA: What is your favorite thing about swimming?
KM: It’s taught me a lot. Swimming is one of those sports where you really have to be on top of things. You have to know yourself really well, and you’re forced to grow up to get to a certain point, and you also have to manage your time really well, because sometimes swim meets can take up an entire day, or they could be five days in a row. Some people may not believe this, but it’s also given me a chance to take care of people. It’s given me a chance to practice anatomy, because I want to be a doctor, and seeing friends who sometimes have back problems or shoulder problems gives me a chance to exert my motherliness and take care of them. It’s given me a lot of great bonds, and it’s something I won’t forget even after I leave.
Elisabeth Siegel (12) is the editor-in-chief of the Winged Post. This is her fourth year in Journalism, and she especially loves production nights and...
Kacey Fang (12) is the Managing Editor for The Winged Post. She has been part of the journalism program since freshman year and served as Features Editor...
